Africa’s consumers are growing in numbers and in buying power, and, like consumers around the world, they have a demonstrated demand for products that meet their needs; on average, half of all household spending in Sub-Sahara Africa goes to consumer packaged goods.

The diversity of consumers and markets within Africa is staggering, but it presents tremendous opportunities for those who properly understand and navigate this complex marketplace. Marketing and promotional activities are essential when entering a region or expanding brand presence, and Africa is no exception. But what’s the most effective way to reach Africa’s consumers? And how can marketers ensure they’re delivering messages and products that resonate?

The latest from Nielsen’s Emerging Market Insights research* found that when it comes to advertising, Africa’s consumers are most aware of traditional channels, with broadcast (83%) topping the list, followed by outdoor (78%) and print advertising (65%). Nearly half of respondents (49%) are aware of mobile advertising, though most mobile advertising across the continent is still text messaging/SMS based because the majority of devices consumers own are feature phones. Consequently, only one-fifth (19%) of respondents are aware of online advertising.

Consumers in Africa are receptive to marketing messages. Nearly half (48%) of consumers interviewed said advertising has significant influence on their purchase decisions. Some 38% said that promotional activities, ranging from in-store displays to value packaging to special offers, motivate them to buy more of a particular product—and even give preference to that product over other brands. One-third (34%) of consumers interviewed also said they buy more of a product or give preference to products that they know engage in corporate social responsibility programs or practices. That figure is significantly higher in some markets, like Rwanda, where 53% of consumers said corporate social responsibility (CSR) influences their purchase decisions.

ingo

Understanding behaviors, attitudes and influences is essential to tap into Africa’s diverse set of consumers. Nigerian consumers in urban centers, for example, may share some commonalities with urban consumers in Angola, but they’re certainly not identical—this is why brand owners and marketers who want to successfully connect with consumers in Africa should shy away from a one-size-fits-all approach.

In fact, consumer understanding is most effective when it extends beyond simply determining the proper messages and media mix to include product innovation and development. A Nielsen analysis found that products developed or tailored specifically for Africa’s consumers achieve a success rate of 40%, well above the standard 10%§.

Many business leaders, economists and investors believe the African continent will continue to post impressive organic growth in the coming years. Leading that growth will surely be the companies that invest in developing programs, products and plans that keep the diverse set of Africa’s consumers as their beacon.

Swiss Belhotel International group is planning to expand further in the UAE and other GCC countries to take advantage of a steady growth in the tourism sector in the region, the group’s chairman and president Gavin Faull said.

He said the group had already strengthened its presence in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and Oman and that it would push ahead with expansion in the region.

He noted that the Group, one of the strongest hotel firms in MENA, expects an economic upturn in the near future in the region due to massive projects.

He said the Hong Kong-based group would open 20 new hotels in 2015 in the Gulf and other countries of the Middle East, adding that this would further bolster its presence.

“Swiss Belhotel is one of the strongest hotel groups in some countries including China, the Philippines, Indonesia and the Far East…we found it important to take the initiative to expand in the Middle East,” he said.

“Our start was in Dubai before we set off towards Saudi Arabia, specifically Riyadh…we then moved to Kuwait and Manama and Doha,” he added.

He said the group’s key projects in Saudi Arabia include the operation and management of the four-star Swiss Belhotel Riyadh hotel which comprises 126 rooms and the Swiss Belboutiqe in Riyadh in 2015.

He said the group has plans to expand its portfolio of hotels, adding that it has already added Swiss Belhotel Saif in Bahrain and Swiss Belresort Ghantout in Dubai besides Swiss Belhotel Plaza in Kuwait and Swiss Belhotel Doha in Qatar.

In 2015, the group intends to open Swiss Belhotel Alghabra in Muscat and Swiss Belhotel Erbil in Iraq’s Kurdistan, he said, adding that there are also plans to expand in other countries, including Egypt and Turkey.

Swiss Belhotel International already has nearly 120 hotels and resorts worldwide including China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand, UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Iraq.

Etihad Airways has been recognized as “Best Airline in the Middle East” by the readers of U.S.-based Premier Traveler magazine.

The award was presented at Premier Traveler’s “Best of 2014 Awards Gala” yesterday, December 4 at the Sofitel Hotel in Los Angeles. A survey of more than 10,000 of the magazine’s readers determined the award winners.

“At Etihad Airways, we benchmark against not only the best airlines in the world, but the very best within the hospitality industry, including five-star hotels, restaurants and resorts,” said James Hogan, President and Chief Executive Officer of Etihad Airways.

“Our aim is not to be the world’s biggest airline but to be the very best in class as determined by our guests traveling with us across every cabin of service. The secret ingredient to all of this remains our employees who are the ambassadors of the Etihad Airways brand on the ground and in the air. This award is a testament to their dedication and commitment to excellence and we are honored to be named Best Airline in the Middle East by the readers of Premier Traveler magazine.”

Etihad Airways continues its rapid expansion within the U.S. this year, doubling the total number of cities the airline serves to six with its most recent launch of new daily, nonstop service to San Francisco on November 18 and nonstop service to Dallas/Fort Worth on December 3. Guests traveling between cities within America, including Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and Washington, D.C., can also connect to the airline’s home of Abu Dhabi, a rapidly growing, globally competitive aviation, cultural and economic marketplace, onto the world.

BR Communications FZE and Business Setup Consultants partner together to support new entrepreneurs in the UAE

A recent study by Dun and Bradstreet revealed SMEs represent over 90% of the total number of companies in the UAE and account for more than 85% of jobs in the private sector. In contributing to this growth, BR Communications FZE, a PR, design, and marketing consultancy and Business Setup Consultants (BSC) have signed a referral partnership. This collaboration will help new entrepreneurs fully get their legal business needs and services for them to standout and grow in the UAE market.

Says Henry Hazougi, Managing Director of BSC: “This partnership is a very important one in our industry as we have clients excited about having their own businesses up and running and making sure they get all the services that would help their company grow and standout in minimum time required. With BR Communications FZE, we have added an essential element that is much needed for SMEs especially startups and therefore our clients can benefit from PR, marketing and design services along with many other services that we provide at BSC”.

Bahaa Fatairy, Managing Director of BR Communications FZE says: “We always get asked if we provide any legal services for businesses. We even have had entrepreneurs from Europe and the USA contacting us for advice on how to setup SMEs in the UAE. With BSC now being on board, we  are confident that such an exciting collaboration will not only help entrepreneurs get their businesses set up in a matter of days, but also grow our circle of connections for many exciting opportunities in the future”.

"Who’s that on your T-shirt?" I asked. "Oh, it's Amylee33 — she’s a YouTuber," she said.

I’m not entirely sure why I was surprised to hear that my teenage niece was proudly sporting a fashion accessory idolizing the iconized avatar of a content provider from the Internet.

According to Nielsen, YouTube is the Number One social network for teens and millenials – reaching over 50 percent of that customer group – more than any cable TV network. Also when you consider the report from YouTube themselves from September 2014 that revealed an astonishing 98 percent of 18- to 34-year-olds use their smartphone on a daily basis to consume video content, should it really come as any surprise that these information superhighway heroes could diversify their fame and notoriety to millions of their subscribers into a lucrative fashion franchise? In short, I guess not.

It should come as no surprise because there is a case to be made that the "celebrity" endorsement era that brands and advertising has heavily relied upon for decades is coming to an abrupt halt. The game has changed. No longer is it credible, compelling or cool to have a Hollywood or HBO B-Lister stand up, walk on and infer with no apparent reason or requirement that product "x" is awesome and you should have some of it in your life. Those days are gone.

Think about it. Why would a celebrity made famous and equitable in an age dominated by TV and film have any jurisdiction, impact or provenance across a whole new generation of platforms, social media, gaming, digital products, service design, content provision and even e-commerce? Today’s value offering from brands is better fronted from those who know about the business not from those in show business.

We live in a world where real life trumps rhetoric and the new, improved way to connect with the intended audience means moving from the use of the lame lip synched show pony to the socially supercharged subject-matter expert.

Speaking from our own experiences at Razorfish — the redundancy of "celebrity" and the rise of the influencer across many different sectors and challenges makes for some compelling evidence that the tide is turning.

Utilizing, identifying and engaging "the influencer" we have successfully launched a brand new product sector for one luxury carmaker, in their largest market in the Western world with just five relatively "unknown" Instagram photographers. We have brought sell-out product innovation to the menu of the world’s most prolific restaurant by harnessing the food fantasies of their fans. And through the study of billions of searches for hair care information and partnering with the worlds most respected beauty bloggers and content creators we have successfully answered millions of hair and beauty queries from women all over the planet.

What’s the secret to these successes?

Well, of course there has much been written on the subject from the world of behavioral economics around the human decision-making process and the motivations that make us do and act in a particular fashion, which all have merit. Simply put, though, there is one core weapon that the influencer has in its armory that will defy any amount of celebrity mind games.

That weapon is authenticity.

Influencers make everything real. In fact they are real. No bullshit or tenuous association with the product, brand or service. The value they bring is born out of a real, deep expertise and understanding for their chosen subject – respected by many and shared socially. A real and genuine passion for what they do – demonstrated by the time and effort they put into growing and connecting with their fan base. They have a real, unique capability and skill – often captured and subsequently distributed for millions to learn and be inspired by, a social currency with value.

Amylee33 – the Minecraft mentor who has a YouTube video channel offering guidance and inspiration for the game’s global audience has not achieved almost 100 million views of her content by accident and it certainly has nothing to do with her (or his) "celebrity" profile. She provides a reasonably unique, useful service, enabling, empowering and improving the lives of the audience. Making the stuff people want not making people want stuff. Something a lot of brands could learn from.

Celebrity born in the TV age is losing its influence, while the Internet-born influencer is the new celebrity. 

Authored by Daniel, CCO of Razorfish Global

Source:razorfish.com

Connected-Home Experiences Will Center on Video and Apps

Video and visual technologies are becoming increasingly important for interacting with customers and each other, according to Gartner, Inc. Gartner predicts that by 2017, live video broadcasting will be the new "selfie" and recommends that product managers start creating a "visual" strategy straight away to accommodate this trend.

"The next generation of consumer services and products has one main theme in common and that is video," said Brian Blau, research director at Gartner. "This means incorporating live video or other real-time technologies into products to engage users in live events and enable more personalized communications, providing better customer support, and offering best-of-breed video and TV experiences to connected homes."

Over the next four years, Gartner expects a noteworthy shift from static photos to video, with live video becoming as important a medium. This will be a significant development as in 2014 alone, more than a trillion photos will be taken, uploaded and shared daily, and the sharp rise in the popularity of online photos shows no signs of slowing. Although live and user-generated video is still less accessible than static photography, it is also growing in popularity.

Beyond its potential to be a richer medium for self-expression, live video's use cases surpass what static images and prerecorded video can accomplish. It can be used for remote monitoring (of a baby, or of the security of a company's premises), remote doctor-patient consultations and remote collaboration (via shared workspaces), and for improved customer service. As live video technology becomes more accessible, it will appear in many contexts, from mobile apps for consumers to customer support services. To benefit, users will need robust bandwidth, devices and cameras, as well as apps and services that capitalize on video's communicative power.

Gartner made a number of further predictions about the connected home, including:

By 2018, 76 percent of connected-home apps will be accessible from smart TVs.

Smart TVs are fast becoming mass-market products. Gartner's 2014 consumer survey indicates that almost 25 percent of U.S. households own a smart TV. In Germany, the figure is 32 percent. Gartner forecasts that worldwide, 87 percent of the TVs shipped annually will be smart TVs by 2018. This will result in such devices becoming very common in homes.

"Despite the typically slow replacement cycle for TV sets, smart TV penetration is growing steadily," said Fernando Elizalde, principal research analyst at Gartner. "Smart TVs are already central to the provision of connected-home entertainment. These devices can serve as access points for the control and management of other connected home devices. Applications to control and monitor home security cameras, door locks, thermostats and other connected devices are just some of many connected-home applications that could work well through smart TVs."

Recent industry developments will bring management and control apps to smart TVs. However, the fragmentation of smart TV platforms makes it difficult for connected-home device manufacturers and app developers to focus on this "fourth screen" for access and management apps — except for media and entertainment devices. Nevertheless, as connected devices slowly gain momentum, and as an app presence on multiple screens becomes first a differentiator and then a must-have feature, smart TV apps for connected devices will reach parity with smartphone and tablet apps.

By 2018, connected-home services will cost 50 percent less than they do now.

Price could be a major factor in low adoption rates of connected-home services. Although current pricing plans offered by providers are relatively reasonable, they are additional costs for consumers on already stretched telecommunications budgets.

Providers of connected-home services that charge monthly service fees may struggle to compete with those that do not, such as home energy management providers like Hive in the U.K. and Nest (now owned by Google). Additionally, electronics stores are creating in-store connected-home areas where consumers can get expert advice on creating their own connected-home platforms. In order to offer similar experiences to their customers, service providers would need to invest in both retail space and staff education.

"The connected-home market is showing the usual signs of nascency: low penetration, high interest mainly among technology enthusiasts, and high prices," said Jessica Ekholm, research director at Gartner. "For mass-market adoption, prices need to come down, but lowering prices won't suffice on its own. The current lack of interest from most sectors of the public also indicates that people do not see the immediate advantage of connected home services. Embracing a strategy that offers in-store expert advice could therefore be the way forward."

Seventeen award winners announced at the MEPRA Awards; Memac Ogilvy wins campaign of the year and Mubadala in-house team of the year

The Middle East’s public relations industry came together last night to celebrate its achievements over the last twelve months and honor the winners of the MEPRA Awards, the only awards competition for excellence in communications and public relations. A record-breaking 161 entries for the MEPRA Awards were whittled down to seventeen winners. 

The top accolade, that of MEPRA Agency of the Year, was won by Weber Shandwick MENA. Memac Ogilvy Dubai won the Best Campaign award for The Autocomplete Truth initiative. Mubadala won the In-House Team of the Year. In total ten agencies and organizations won for their creativity and execution, with Weber Shandwick, Memac Ogilvy and Hill+Knowlton Strategies winning multiple categories.

The winners were selected by a distinguished jury of marketing and communications leaders from across different sectors and organizations. The jury selected entries that exemplified best practices across five categories – issue identification, research, strategic approach, planning, and execution. Entries were received from across the region, including from Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia and the United Arab Emirates, for the seventeen categories.

“The judges noted the quality of the entries this year, and they were impressed by how well the winners had managed to convey the underlying issue, the depth of research undertaken, the thought behind their strategic approach, the amount of planning which went into the winning campaigns, and the quality of execution,” said Carine Duvignaud, MEPRA’s General Manager. “This year’s award winning campaigns, agencies and organizations prove that the region has moved beyond what is traditionally viewed as a function that only embodies media relations to a profession that adds real value to the bottom line in terms of reputation building, issues awareness and incremental business.”

The full list of winners and highly commended campaigns is below and organized by award title, agency name and campaign name:

Sectors & Services

Best Consumer Goods Campaign - Memac Ogilvy PR Tunisia –Delice

Best Consumer Services Campaign - House of Comms – Bounce: The Free-Jumping Revolution

Best Consumer Services Campaign (Highly Commended) - Hill+Knowlton Strategies – WWE Riyadh Tour 2014

Best Corporate Reputation & Image Campaign - Weber Shandwick MENA – The DGC- X- Factor! How DGCX Transformed Its Regional and Global Profile

Best Corporate Social Responsibility & Environmental PR Campaign - Blue Rubicon – Action on Diabetes Ramadan Campaign

Best Government Communications Campaign - Hill+Knowlton Strategies – Inspiring a Sporting Generation – Qatar National Sports Day

Best Health Care & Services Campaign - Memac Ogilvy PR Dubai – Break Away from Psoriasis

Best Business to Business Campaign - Weber Shandwick MENA – Credit Where It’s Due! Raising Understanding of S&P’s Role in Regional Capital Market Development 

Best Internal Communications Campaign - ENEC – 123 Tarkeez

Techniques

Best Integrated Campaign - Memac Ogilvy PR Dubai – The Autocomplete truth

Best Launch Live Event/Stunt - DABO & CO – The Launch of Nokia Lumia 1020: Reaching New Heights

Best Use of Media Relations - Mojo PR – ICAEW

Best Use of Social Media & Digital PR - Atlantis the Palm

Best Use of Sponsorship - Hill+Knowlton Strategies – “Winning the ultimate World Cup battle of the brands for Adidas”

People & Agencies

Agency of the Year - Weber Shandwick MENA

In-House Team of the Year - Mubadala

Best Overall Campaign of the Year - Memac Ogilvy PR Dubai – The Autocomplete truth

Dave Robinson Award for Outstanding Young Communicator of the Year - Becki Willis, Hill+Knowlton Strategies

Dave Robinson Award for Outstanding Young Communicator of the Year (Highly Commended) - Rijosh Joseph, DABO & CO

As the result of a pitch between the most prestigious international media agencies, Daimler AG with its brands has decided to collaborate with Group M on nine Asian markets.

The aim pursued by bundling the media activities in the region is to further secure and extend the special status of one of the biggest corporate advertisers: best know-how, best support, best consulting and best terms.

“With the current growth strategy 'Mercedes-Benz 2020' in mind we are further pursuing regional optimisation and consolidation in the area of media activities,” said Dr Jens Thiemer, Head of Marketing Communications for Mercedes-Benz Cars, commenting on the decision. “Our concern is for consistent, innovative marketing communications that lead in quality, for still greater efficiency in media planning, and above all an answer to the global challenges presented by digital media.” 

Fair and transparent pitch process 

The pitch between three agency groups began in May 2014, and nine Asian Daimler markets were actively involved. The selection of the new agency partner was based on a standardised, integrated and transparent process. It ensured that both central and market-specific aspects could be taken into account in the decision.

“Bundling the markets enabled unused potential to be exploited,” explained Wendelin Wolbert, Head of Non-Production Materials Procurement. “We are convinced that Group M has delivered the most efficient solution for overall economic success.”

“We very much look forward to the joint work with Group M in Asia, and are sure that together we will successfully meet the challenges which the coming years hold for us,” said Dr Jens Thiemer.

Mindshare, a WPP global media agency, today announced a new product, Search As SignalTM (SAS), to inform media decision-making for Mindshare clients.

Search As Signal has access to aggregated, indexed search trends that can be filtered by country to give marketers information on whether they are trending up or down relative to their norm or the category norm. With proprietary category definitions crowdsourced, analyzed, and defined by Mindshare and Google, SAS looks at brand and category activity outside the brand-messaging vacuum. The SAS alert system gives Mindshare clients an early indicator if a category or brand is accelerating, giving teams real-time insights to turn into media actions that influence content, keyword search and paid media decisions.

SAS, unique to the marketplace, lets Mindshare clients access customized, fliterable, aggregated and anonymized search trends relevant to their brands and categories (on an non-exclusive basis). Thus Mindshare clients can understand where a brand sits in the larger cultural environment of search activity. The initiative combines Google’s global reach and Mindshare’s global network to bring unprecedented insight and data to Multinational clients.

"Leading agencies, like Mindshare, are helping to offer their clients’ a holistic view of how their campaigns are performing across channels as search activity is a strong signal,” said Anya Paul, Global Agency Business Leader, Google.

"We’re happy to work with them to make insights available through THE LOOP and Search As Signal to enable their clients to make smarter investment decisions."

THE LOOP is Mindshare’s adaptive marketing engine. A physical room that enables adaptivity, using real-time insight to drive real time actions. Featuring multiple screens that provide locally relevant data feeds and cultural context, Mindshare uses THE LOOP to drive behavioral change, both for clients’ consumer relations, but also across client agency networks, creating one focused team working adaptively, reacting live and seeing trends ahead of the competition. It ‘closes the loop’ on the P.O.E. model by focusing on adapting paid media, based on the best available data.

Retailers who want to increase revenue this holiday season should look at how product pages are set up. That is the takeaway from a new Lab42 study which indicates retailer websites are the top way shoppers find product details to research gifts.

Retailer websites need to create a shopper experience that is seamless, but they also need to provide information. Specifically product information. According to new data out from Lab42 retailer sites are the top way shoppers research their gift buys with social media coming in second. Just about one-third (37%) of shoppers research gifts via social media.

"Every year, we aim to gauge what matters to consumers as they do their holiday shopping and monitor how that changes," said Jonathan Pirc, Founder of Lab42. "We were surprised to see that despite last year's shipping delays during the holidays, consumers still found free shipping to be their preferred offer from online retailers."

Some interesting findings from the report include:

•29% of shoppers will spend between $400 and $699

•32% will spend between $100 and $399

•91% say they'll shop online this holiday season

•53% say they'll shop online 'more than in the past'

•71% say they'll buy for themselves this holiday

•63% of women and 56% of men say they'll set a holiday budget

As for how they'll make the decision to shop Retailer A over Retailer B, the study indicates free shipping will continue to be a top draw with 40% saying free shipping would help decide where they purchase online items. As for the demographic break-down, women were most likely (42%) to view free shipping as the best online incentive. Discounts are also popular with 26% saying discounts will help make their purchase decisions.